The exponential growth of information within an enterprise which is stored in individual document form has created a need for a reliable mechanism to purge individual documents when no longer legally or otherwise required, as well as locate them in an efficient manner.
In an age when the growth of information contained within documents has been exponential, a missing element is the ability to determine the proper life cycle for a document, and thus, make it possible for the document to be purged on a scheduled basis. However, to safely accomplish this purging process, a document management system typically requires that a significant amount of detail be stored with the document.
Since all retention scheduling is based on the subject matter of a document, it is essential that the system identify the subject matter of all documents in a consistent manner. Additionally, the terms used to identify the subject matter must conform to the terms used in legislation to identify documents as well as the terminology in current use within the enterprise.
The present invention provides a reliable mechanism to accomplish this task.
In systems having this capability, the "type" of document must also be determined. Different types of documents within the same subject matter area may have different retention requirements. The system must be able to determine the type of document at the outset. This "type" information specifies whether a particular document is "official" or "informational" and whether it is also "vital" or "sensitive." The type of document determines the level of protection afforded and has a direct impact on determining the life-cycle of the document. Additionally, document type impacts the decision as to the media selected to store it, whether electronic, paper or film.
Official documents are those documents identified in a retention schedule as having either administrative or legislative retention requirements. Properly, only official documents are subject to archiving.
Informational documents (largely copies) have their own destruction schedule based on need. They are not archived and their life cycle must not exceed official documents of the same subject. They are destroyed at the office level when their usefulness is over. Normally, informational documents have a substantially shorter life-cycle than official documents pertaining to the same subject.
Vital documents are those that are absolutely essential to the conduct of the enterprise and whose loss would be hugely expensive or would irrefutably damage continued operations.
Sensitive documents contain, for example:
1. Personnel information which provides confidential data. PA1 2. Information that in the hands of a competitor could be used to embarrass or cast a bad image on the enterprise with its customers or the public. PA1 3. Marketing, product development or corporate changes that could sabotage effectiveness. PA1 1. Documents whose retention is covered by legislative requirements must be retained a prescribed period of time, after a certain event takes place, e.g., after an audit is completed, when the document is superseded, when its purpose has been completed (such as a contract) and for certain corporate documents). PA1 2. Legal penalties exist, including fines, where purging of documents occurs before their legal requirements have been met. On the other hand, retaining documents longer than their legal requirement can have both a "sword and a shield" effect where litigation is concerned.